Ch.310Prelude

While Valentin was tilting his head, pondering the identity of the smell, Oleg silently looked Haschal up and down with his arms crossed before breaking into a grin.

It was a feeling somewhat different from hostility. His perked-up tail revealed a vague sense of satisfaction.

After standing like that for a moment, Oleg approached Rurik.

“Shouldn’t we start attacking soon? Standing here watching won’t make the castle collapse on its own.”

“Yes. We should.”

Rurik nodded and walked toward the front of the formation.

The Champions followed, ceasing their idle chatter.

The warriors’ gazes turned toward their king.

Rurik, the Winter Wolf.

A hero who united more than ten clans to create a nation of Werebeasts and reduced the northern wall, which had seemed impenetrable, to ruins.

The strongest Werebeast of the current era.

“I won’t make a long speech. There’s no need for that anymore. As your king, this is all I have to say.”

Rurik turned his head and looked over the warriors.

The eyes of the warriors meeting his gaze were filled with reverence akin to religious devotion.

“Aren’t you sick of a life where you devour each other out of hunger, of the knife-like blizzards that seep through your fur? Why must we live like that? Right there is the prey that has everything you desire! Look at those castle walls!”

Rurik stretched out his arm, pointing at Faelrun Castle.

Faelrun. The enemy’s castle that had blocked their way for hundreds of years since their humiliating past when they fled across the mountains to escape the accursed Carlos the Great.

Today was finally the day to spill Faelrun blood on the snow.

“That is the final boundary separating winter from summer, harshness from abundance! Once we cross that wall, all that awaits you is a land endlessly filled with prey and warm sunshine! Doesn’t the mere thought make your mouth water?”

The warriors let out a unified roar.

“Let’s go! This battle will determine your—no, our entire race’s destiny! Teach them the cruelty of winter! Kill them all, devour them all! The season of hunting, the time of predation has come!”

The roars of thousands of beasts slashed through the night sky.

Revealing their savage ferocity, the Werebeast army charged toward the castle walls.

It was the beginning of the battle on which their fate depended.

“Catapult units! Load the ice projectiles! Aim above the wall, not at it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Nazar left his final orders to the catapult operators just before rushing out to follow Rurik.

A battle with uncertain odds even if they committed all their warriors. He too, as a Champion, had to fight at the forefront instead of commanding the rear forces.

The mixed-blood warriors operating the catapults busily loaded the next ice blocks.

“We’re going to break down the gate! Follow me!”

The giant unit led by Vasili and Viktor broke away from the group and rushed toward the gate.

They were warriors of exceptional size and strength even among Werebeasts. These massive warriors were better suited for breaking walls rather than climbing them.

All other Werebeasts simultaneously dispersed and charged toward the castle walls.

With nothing but armor to protect their bodies and weapons to wield. Claws were all they needed to climb the castle walls.

—-

Rurik’s speech was loud enough for Haschal, who was watching from atop the wall, to hear clearly.

Though to her, it was nothing but meaningless drivel that stirred no emotion.

“What a load of nonsense.”

Haschal sneered as she drew her bowstring.

No one bothered to respond, but the others shared similar thoughts.

“The audacity has its limits. These beasts that eat humans. If they had just quietly lived off livestock, we wouldn’t have had to drive them away.”

They seemed to be claiming they lived harshly because of humans, but even to Haschal, who wasn’t from this place, it sounded like complete nonsense.

The claim was immediately refuted by the existence of Dwarves, Dragonborn, and fairies who coexisted peacefully with humans.

…Though the fairies seemed to think a bit differently.

Anyway, their banishment to the snow fields was entirely their own doing.

It was absurd that they would whine about being wronged.

‘Well, I suppose dogs bark, so it makes sense.’

Haschal smirked and fired another Karma of Murder.

There was no need to aim carefully. The area below the wall was overflowing with targets.

The red arrow, flying like a meteor, scattered flesh across the snow.

Werebeasts caught in the blade of Karma screamed as they were dismembered and collapsed.

“Do not fear! It’s merely a sharp wind; as long as you’re not hit directly, you can regenerate!”

Oleg shouted fiercely. True to his words, the Werebeasts who had fallen after being grazed by the Karma of Murder were already getting back up one by one. Rapidly regenerating their severed limbs and torn entrails.

No matter how sharp the attack, nothing but silver or true silver could cut off a Werebeast’s regenerative ability.

While the arrowhead itself was made of silver, the blade of Karma of Murder was merely killing intent given form.

Unless they were completely butchered to the point where they couldn’t regenerate their heads or entire bodies, having limbs severed was merely a minor injury that even mixed-bloods could quickly recover from.

—-

Haschal could clearly see this spectacle as well.

The beasts that had been screaming and rolling on the ground were now standing up as if nothing had happened and running again.

“As expected, Karma of Murder isn’t very effective against Werebeasts.”

[Of course not. It is meant to slaughter humans in light armor. Not a technique for hunting mere beasts.]

Hersella muttered with a hint of reproach, as if stating the obvious.

“Then don’t you have any techniques that work well against them?”

[How would I have such things? We rarely encountered these beasts in the Great Plains.]

After reaching Champion status, Hersella had continuously developed various techniques using materialized Karma energy… but most were designed to kill humans. She had never even considered creating attacks specifically for opponents like Werebeasts who stubbornly regenerated.

True Blade Art might work, but that wasn’t originally designed for long-range combat, nor was it a technique Haschal could use.

“You lack creativity, it seems.”

[And you lack shame, more than I thought.]

Hersella let out an incredulous laugh.

Hadn’t she already taught seven techniques so far?

Soul Extinction, Karma of Murder, Falling Flower Spear.

Mountain Breaker, Falling Collapse, Karma Fire, and Sovereign Stride.

Most were merely basic techniques, admittedly.

There were various other techniques like True Blade Art, but she hadn’t bothered teaching them to Haschal.

She fought well enough without being taught, and it was clear that teaching her wouldn’t result in proper efficiency anyway.

The techniques beyond what she had taught so far required razor-sharp concentration and control, like walking on a blade’s edge.

While Haschal’s control over Karma had improved, she could only wield it freely to a certain extent, not manipulate and control it with the precision that Hersella could.

[If facing regenerating opponents, wouldn’t blowing off their heads kill them? Instead of pondering complicated methods, you should improve your archery skills.]

“Easy for you to say!”

Despite grumbling, Haschal continued to nock arrows and fire them at the Werebeasts without pause.

The force was weaker than a fully realized Karma of Murder.

Rather than wasting energy on ineffective attacks, it was more efficient to rapid-fire with just enough power for normal shots—just enough to blow off heads.

While attacks would be meaningless unless they hit the head directly, the flashes of light occasionally struck true, obliterating the beasts’ heads without a trace.

[Three or four hits out of ten. Don’t go around calling yourself a Ka’har.]

“Isn’t that good accuracy at this distance?”

[…It pains me that I cannot demonstrate a Champion’s archery. Even that weed-haired girl would shoot better than you.]

Before Haschal could retort to Hersella’s sarcastic lament, a flash of light shot like a storm from the watchtower behind them.

– Whoooosh!

An incredible sound that could hardly be believed to come from an arrow assaulted their eardrums.

Haschal’s hair whipped violently in the rushing wind.

The arrow, almost as large as a javelin, tore through the air as it rushed toward the enemy.

– KWAAANG!

The great bow’s arrow struck exactly where it was aimed, without the slightest error.

With a sound like a direct hit from a shell, the snow piled on the ground erupted like a volcano.

When the white mist settled, all that remained was the great bow’s arrow embedded in the ground and the remains of a catapult.

[Look at that. Ten times better than you.]

“Hey, my specialty is swordplay, you know? Archery is just a supplementary skill for me.”

Haschal shrugged slightly and grumbled. A second arrow from the great bow sliced through the air.

—-

To the mixed-blood Werebeasts operating the catapults, Millia’s arrow was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

The shockwave alone knocked them backward, and a direct hit would pierce even armor, leaving a hole the size of a head.

“Urgh… what was that just now? A javelin…?”

The fallen Werebeasts shook their heads and staggered to their feet.

Those unfortunate enough to be grazed by the arrow clutched their torn parts, groaning. Bright red blood gushed between their fingers.

Injuries that showed no signs of healing easily. The bleeding wouldn’t stop.

Even ordinary silver arrows, not true silver, were threatening enough to those who weren’t purebloods.

“Over there! It came from that tower!”

A Werebeast standing next to another catapult pointed at the watchtower beyond the wall.

He had no idea those words would be his last.

The next moment, what his retina captured was death flying toward him, carrying swirling air currents.

“Ah,”

The Werebeast’s head, mouth agape, turned to pulp and scattered.

The catapult behind him shattered into pieces, its debris covering his corpse like a blanket.